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The Resurrection


Romans 8: 28 – 39; 1st Corinthians 15: 1 – 26; Matthew 28: 1 – 10

That first Easter morning was not just another day. That first Easter morning was not just a special Sunday. Easter is not just an event that happened 2,000 years ago. Easter is an ongoing event of changing peoples’ lives. Jesus’ resurrection changed everything 2,000 years ago and Jesus’ resurrection still changes everything. We have come together this morning to celebrate Jesus’ resurrection. We come to praise our God who moved the stone that sealed Jesus’ tomb. We come to praise our God that moves the stones in our lives that keep us from living the victorious life God planned for us. We have come to praise our God who raised Jesus’ dead body and our God who gives life to our dead spiritual bodies. We have come to praise our God who exalted Jesus to the highest place in heaven and our God who adopts us as His own children. We have come to praise our God who rewarded His faithful Son, and our God who rewards all of those who are faithful by making them joint heirs with Christ.

Since Easter is anything but just a special day, this morning I want to think about what Easter means to us by using an acrostic for the word Easter.

E – The E in Easter stands for empty. In verse 6 the angel said, “He is not here; he has risen, just as he said. Come and see the place where he lay.” Jesus’ tomb was empty. On that first Easter morning the women went to the tomb feeling empty. The Lord had been brutally killed; their hopes for the new king of Israel had been shattered. The women went to do the difficult job of washing the dried blood from Jesus’ body and to anoint Jesus’ body with oil and spices. But when the women got to Jesus’ tomb the person they loved was not in the tomb. The tomb was empty. No one doubts that part of the women’s story. But the dilemma the women and the disciples faced was, “Why was the tomb empty?” And that is the same question each of us must decide for our selves this morning. Easter reminds us that we do not have to live an empty life.

A – The A in Easter stands for alive. Jesus is alive. Luke 24:5 tells us, “Why do you look for the living among the dead?” The angels asked the women a question that we should never forget. Our Savior is alive. Christianity is the only religion that is based on a living person. Mohammed, Buddha, Confucius, and Joseph Smith are still in their graves. But Jesus is alive. No other religion defeats death and gives life to believers. Jesus said, “I am the Living One; I was dead, and now look, I am alive for ever and ever! And I hold the keys of death and Hades.” (Rev. 1:18).

In verses 7-9 we read, “Then go quickly and tell his disciples: ‘He has risen from the dead and is going ahead of you into Galilee. There you will see him.’ Now I have told you.”So, the women hurried away from the tomb, afraid yet filled with joy, and ran to tell his disciples. Suddenly Jesus met them.” Jesus’ resurrection is the foundation of Christianity and since Jesus’ resurrection is so essential it has been attacked from the beginning by skeptics. Many theories have been proposed but each of these theories is based on the disciples covering up the evidence and promoting a lie. In our lesson from 1st Corinthians Paul wrote, “Then Jesus appeared to James, then to all the apostles.” Jesus appeared to the disciples on at least 11 separate occasions and one of these occasions more than 500 people witnessed the resurrected Jesus. Ask yourself, would hundreds of people be willing to be fed to hungry lions or burned as candles to promote a lie?

The resurrection of Jesus is not just something we believe as Christians. Jesus’ resurrection is the center of our faith. And when you grasp that fact, it will change your view of life and physical death. We can face tomorrow knowing our living Lord is with us, providing for us, and protecting us. We can face tomorrow knowing that some day our Lord will call us home and we will go to a better place where there is no more pain, no more suffering, no more death, and we will be united with our creator God and with all of our loved ones who died in Christ. Easter reminds us that Jesus is alive.

S – The S in Easter stands for salvation. The Bible is crystal clear. We are all sinners and the penalty for sin is death. We have all fallen short of God’s standard of righteousness and all stand condemned to die. Jesus came to earth as a human to die for your sins and for my sins. Isaiah 53:5 says, “But he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was on him, and by his wounds we are healed.” Jesus took our place. Jesus paid the debt we could never pay. “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him.” We all need to be saved from our sinful attitudes and our sinful ways. 1st Timothy 2:5 says, “For there is one God and one mediator between God and mankind, the man Christ Jesus.” Acts 4:12 says, “Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to mankind by which we must be saved.” John 14:6 says, “Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.” To say that Jesus is the only way is not arrogance but rather it states God’s love for everyone because Jesus took our place and Jesus paid a debt that no person could ever pay. There are many people searching for love, forgiveness, meaning, and hope for a better tomorrow. Jesus’ resurrection reminds us that Jesus provides salvation to a hopeless unsaved world.

The T in Easter stands for tell. In verse 7 we read, “Go quickly and tell his disciples: ‘He has risen from the dead and is going ahead of you into Galilee. There you will see him.” This was a command given to the women and it is the same command Jesus gives to all of us today. Matthew 28:19 says, “Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.” Acts 1:8 says “Ye shall be my witnesses.” Sadly, this is a command that many Christians ignore. But it is a command and we will all be accountable for our obedience. This is not a hard command; remember what Jesus told the man He healed. “Go home to your family and tell them how much the Lord has done for you.” (Mark 5:19) This is not a difficult command when we remember the woman at the well. She went back to town and said, “Come and see a man who knows all I’ve done and yet still loves me.” (John 4:29) The most effective evangelism is one person telling their friends the difference Jesus makes in their life. Also, notice in verse 7 the angel said, “Go quickly”. Friends we cannot continue to ignore Jesus’ command to tell our friends about the good news of Jesus. 2nd Peter 2:9 reminds us of our responsibility to tell The Good News of Jesus to the unsaved people we know “The Lord is not slow in keeping His promise. He is patient with you, not wanting any to perish but wanting everyone to come to repentance” Jesus’ resurrection reminds us of our responsibility to tell other people the difference Jesus makes in our life.

The second E in Easter stands for eternal life. Genesis 3 tells us that God created humans in His image and since God is a spirit and God is eternal, that means we are spiritual beings temporarily housed in a physical body and in His image means we will all live forever. The only question is where a person will spend eternity: in heaven or in hell.

John 10:10 tells us that Jesus came to give us life “I have come that you might have life and have it abundantly.” Jesus also made a number of promises that anyone who believed in Him would have eternal life. Jesus said “I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in me will live, even though he dies; and whoever lives and believes in me will never die.” (John 11:25). In John 5:24-25 Jesus said, “I tell you the truth, whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life and will not be judged but has crossed over from death to life.” Jesus’ resurrection reminds us of Jesus’ incredible offer of eternal life in heaven with Him.

The R in Easter stands for resurrection. In verse 6 of our text we read what the angel said: “Jesus is not here; He has risen just as He said”. Jesus made a number of prophesies about His death and Jesus made a number of promises that He would rise from the dead on the third day. (Matthew 16:21 & 26:61) Only God Himself has the power to come back from the dead. Jesus’ resurrection proves He is who He said He was. Jesus’ resurrection proves Jesus was God in the flesh.

Christianity is a resurrection religion. The New Testament speaks of three bodily resurrections.

  1. The bodily resurrection of Jesus. This took place on that first Easter morning. Jesus rose from the tomb and appeared to His disciples. Jesus was not a ghost. His disciples felt His resurrect body and Jesus ate with His disciples. Yet, the resurrected Jesus appeared, disappeared, passed through locked doors, and defied gravity as the disciples watched Him ascend into heaven.
  2. The second resurrection is the resurrection of believers’ bodies. 1st Thessalonians 4:16 says, “For the Lord himself will come down from heaven, with a loud command, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet call of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first.” Philippians 3:21 tells us, “He will change our lowly body to be like His glorious body. Each time we say the Apostles’ Creed we state, “I believe in the resurrection of the body.” After that we who are still alive will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet The Lord in the air. Paul talks about our resurrected body 15th chapter of 1st Corinthians so I challenge all of us to go home and read what Paul tells us in 1st Corinthians 15.
  3. The third resurrection is the resurrection of sinners. We can read about the resurrection and the judgment of those who refuse or neglect to ask Jesus to be their savior in Revelation 20. “Then I saw a great white throne and Him who was seated on it”, “And I saw the dead great and small standing before the throne”, “If anyone’s name was not written in The Book of Life, he was thrown into the lake of fire”.

Romans 14:9-12 says, “For this very reason, Christ died and returned to life so that he might be the Lord of both the dead and the living. For we will all stand before God’s judgment seat. It is written: “As surely as I live,’ says the Lord, ‘every knee will bow before me’; So then, each of us will give an account of ourselves to God.”

The contrast between the women’s emotions going to the tomb and coming from the tomb is remarkable. They walked to the tomb with fear, dejected and empty and they left the tomb running and singing with joy and eager to spread the good news that Jesus had risen from the dead. The message of Easter is Jesus is alive and Jesus wants to be with each of us. Jesus’ resurrection from the dead offers us the chance to be full of joy, to have meaning and a purpose for living, and to be eager to tell the good news of Jesus to the people around us.

Easter is the greatest source of joy for those who know Jesus as their savior and honor Jesus as their Lord. However, Easter is the greatest source of judgment and condemnation for those who refuse or neglect to ask Jesus to be their personal Savior. If you have never publicly professed your faith in Jesus Christ, I beg you to talk to me before you leave here today. If you are not 100% absolutely certain that you will go to heaven when you die physically, I beg you to talk to me after the service today. You see tomorrow may be too late for you. Asking Jesus to save you is the most important far-reaching decision you will ever make.

  • Easter reminds us that the tomb was empty and we do not have to leave here with empty feelings and without hope.
  • Easter reminds us that that Jesus loves us and Jesus wants us to be with Him both now and forever more.
  • Easter reminds us that Jesus is alive.
  • Easter reminds us that Jesus saves us from the penalty of our sins, the power of sin, and the presence of sin.
  • Easter reminds us of our duty to share the good news of Jesus with the people around us.
  • Easter reminds us that we are spiritual beings and every person will live throughout eternity. The only question is where we will be throughout eternity.
  • Easter reminds us of our resurrection one glorious day; when our physical bodies will be transformed into a glorious resurrection body. AMEN